Feudlings
by Candyland'sVirtue
Summary: New schools suck. But finding out that the guy you're in love with is your prophesied nemesis just sucks dick. Ritsu and Masamune are both their side's trump card to end the 300 year war. When Ritsu arrives at school, angry and sullen, neither of them realize they are supposed to kill each other, not fall in love. Until Ritsu finally realizes, and almost dies- by Masamune's hand.
1. New School and Oh look, a ladder

**A/N from deh future: Edited so that all mistakes should be fixed...? o.o**

**Hey. So…I'm officially obsessed with Wendy Knight and her beautiful novels. **

**I wish I could've put this story as a crossover, because it is a crossover and this AU does not belong to anyone but Wendy Knight and Wendy Knight alone, but her Fate on Fire series are not in the fanfiction log yet. Anyways…So far, Wendy has two books out for her FoF series, and one extra story_. As your average 14-year-old bookworm from down the street, I highly recommend you read her books. I promise, they're worth it._**

**Now, for the summary I WANTED to put, but there wasn't enough room :P**

** New schools suck. But finding out that the guy you're in love with is your prophesied nemesis just sucks dick. Onodera Ritsu is the prodigy of the Edrens, red-flame throwing sorcerers, and with his power, he is the key to ending the war against the Carules, blue-flame throwing sorcerers. However, in his free time, he's your average, cranky teenager determined to graduate. Takano Masamune, the prodigy of the blue-flame throwing sorcerers, is destined to end the 300 year war by killing, or being killed. However, he has hidden his entire life, unlike his enemy. When Ritsu arrives at school, angry and sullen, neither of them realizes that they are supposed to kill each other, not fall in love. Until Ritsu finally does realize, and ends up on the brink of death - by Masamune's hand.**

**Oh, and this is rated T for language. Rating may change. **

**Anywayyss**

**I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. All rights go to Shungiku Nakamura, the author of the series.**

**I do not own 'Feudlings', or any of the 'Fate on Fire' books. All rights of this alternate universe go to Wendy Knight, the author of these novels.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan, Present Day_

Onodera Ritsu threw his green suitcase down by his bed with a huff, and wondered if unpacking was even worth it. This was his sixteenth boarding school. Sixteen in nine years, but his uncle said that there would probably have been more if he hadn't been homeschool up until the third grade. That's when 'The Family' started sending him out to hunt.

_I'm totally living the wrong life._ He shook the dangerous thought away, and focused on a safer one. As he began to unpack, he wondered if he was ever going to graduate in the first place. Of course, as any normal senior, he was supposed to want to graduate, and focus with all his might on getting to. But I'm not a normal senior, he thought to himself, quieting the flames that ran through his blood.

"Who the hell are you?" a rough, cold voice demanded behind him.

Ritsu didn't even bother looking back. "I'm Onodera Ritsu. And you?"

"This is _my_ room." The voice replied through gritted teeth.

Ritsu considered the threat, and then shook it off. He's heard much worse.

"I said, this is MY room!" The voice shouted with a high crack that Ritsu's eardrums shake. Sighing, Ritsu stood up, running a hand through his light brown locks as he turned to face the nuisance. He was met with a tall, buff brunette that stood in the doorway with his arms crossed across his chest, dark eyes glaring at him as if he were an insect.

"Well sorry, but this is my room too now, princess. So suck it up. If that's gonna be a problem for you and your snooty little ass, then you had better take it up with the headmistress." He spat out, obviously annoyed cold green eyes clashed against the male's dark gaze.

The male's lips tightened, and looked Ritsu up and down before shaking his head, and marched into the room rather grumpily. "Hataini Shin. Call me Hataini, though. Only close friends call me Shin." He sat down on his bed, and scowled at Ritsu, obviously expecting a reply.

Ritsu decided that Hataini was trying to intimidate him, and forced back a smile. Dumb fuck. "Hey," he said, and went back to unpacking.

After a few minutes of silence, his roommate huffed, and finally realized that Ritsu obviously wasn't going to make an attempt to socialize. Hataini got up and trudged down the hall, slamming the door to mark his leave. Ritsu only grinned.

Well, it was nice that this school had uniforms. It saved him the fruitless time and energy it took to pick out clothes that would make him stand out the least, even though his eyes always gave him away. Mostly, brown eyes were a common sight in Japan. He cursed his emerald orbs, and shook his head. Even through his bangs, he could see the dark red streaks that ran through the brown-streaks that were 100% natural as an Edren, but looked anything but to mortals. Besides that, he was the new kid, so fading into the background was practically impossible.

After putting his clothes away, and stuffing his bag under his bed, he surveyed the room, his hands on hips. The right side of the room was a complete pigsty of paper and clutter, clothes thrown all across the floor. In all honesty, it looked like a tornado had flown through the room, but had somehow completely missed the left side.

Ritsu flopped down on his bed, rolling over onto his clean new pillows with a grunt. School started in two days. His seventeenth first day at school. _Though technically,_ he thought to himself, _its lot of people's first days too._ Not a lot of them were seniors, but hey, he'd take what he could get.

He closed his eyes, ignoring the headache that pounded into his head. He sighed in submission when his thoughts drifted to his other life.

Isaka, his caretaker, and the head of the family didn't see the point in school. After all, to him, Ritsu was just a warrior. The hell did he need an education for? It was Ritsu's mom, Aya, with her passive stubbornness that he had definitely inherited, that suggested sending Ritsu to boarding school. She managed to convince Isaka that Ritsu would become a better fighter by going to school, even though he knew that she just wanted him to have a chance at a normal life. Besides, she had a good point in saying that there was no better way to hunt the Carules than in schools, where they were young and inexperienced.

_Carules. _Ritsu gritted his teeth. He was an Edren, a red-flame-throwing sorcerer. Carules were ancient enemies of the Edrens, as he threw red spells, and they threw blue. And that was exactly why they hated each other.

Against his will, he was sent from boarding school to boarding school, where he attempted to fit in with Normals, or mortals that possessed no magic. As soon as he found any trace of blue magic, he would eliminate it, and move to a new school. That's how things had been his entire life.

And he absolutely hated it.

* * *

He must have fell asleep sometime during his thoughts, because the next thing he knew, he was awoken by the door slamming against the door. Emerald eyes opened as Hataini strode through the door. "I need someone tall," he said calmly.

Ritsu blinked. Sure, he was over average height for his age, but he didn't necessarily consider himself tall, as he was the smallest in his family. As he rubbed his eyes, he thought of what to say back, but found out that he had no idea what to reply. "Um…Good for you…" he mumbled, trying to focus on the conversation, although he felt like he was still half asleep.

"Ugh! Bro, listen!" Hataini huffed, flipping his bangs out of his face. "I told Takano that I'd help decorate the entire fucking auditorium for the welcome-back-ball-thingy that the school holds every year." He said, his hand following suit with little motions. Ritsu rubbed his eyes, trying to follow. "Anyways, none of us are tall enough to reach the top of the door, even with the freakin' ladder! So…I was trying to think of some tall people and…" He snapped his fingers dramatically on que, "I thought of you." He said with a grim smile.

Ritsu snorted, and sat up. "No offense, but I think I'll pass."

"What!?" Hataini screeched, and snatched Ritsu's arm. Ritsu blinked in surprise. "Uh…Dramatic much?" he snatched his arm back from the male's sweaty fingers. "Sorry," he started, "but I really don't want to spend my first day here tangled in decorations, and blowing up cheesy, twenty-five-cent balloons."

Ritsu was about to spin around, assuming he ended the conversation, when he was pinned to the wall, rather weakly-completely caught off guard- Hataini's face inches away from his own. The teen's over-inflated pores were extremely visible, and Ritsu resisted the urge to tell him that he desperately needed a mint. "Okay, look buddy, you don't really seem to understand. Takano told me to do this a _week_ ago. And the ball? It's tonight. Do you know what that means? If he finds out that I didn't do it in time…" Hataini shivered, hard. "Anyways, he chose me to decorate, which is obviously his way of saying that he likes me." He grinned toothily. "And I am this. fucking. close." he held up two fingers, "to him asking me out."

"That's nice. So, I care about this…why?" Ritsu asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Ugh! I've only fucking loved the guy for like, my entire high school experience!" Hataini shrieked, pushing away from me, and flopping down on his cluttered bed. "All the girls, and even some of the guys, are like, completely star-struck by him! I want to do a good job so he'll like me too!"

Emerald orbs rolled up to the ceiling. "Again, please explain to me why I should care?"

"Allow me to enlighten you on the glory of Takano Masamune. He's absolutely gorgeous. Probably not your type, though." Hataini waved the thought away.

Ritsu frowned. "I'm a guy, you know." He replied, only to be met by Hataini's toothy grin. "That could change." The male winked, and continued on.

"Anyways, he's got this really hot black hair that I'll soon be running my fingers through. And his eyes!" Hataini let out a soft swoon, and Ritsu mentally noted that he was probably a tranny. "He's got these amazing brown eyes. Well, I guess most people around here have brown eyes, but his are just…Ugh. And he's…" Hataini snickered, "Well, let's just say he's in _very _good shape."

"Forgive me for sounding like a MP3 on repeat, but I. Don't. Give. A. Fuck."

Hataini sat up from his bed, putting his elbows on his knees, his face a perfect mark of incredulous seriousness. "Do you seriously want to start the school year not knowing anyone?"

Ritsu opened his mouth to tell the male that he had no interest in friendship with anyone. He made a rule about it when he was around 10- he didn't have friends. Fourteen schools ago, he learned that boys were assholes. They were only your friend when they needed your help on homework, or when you were face to face. Behind your back, they were laughing in your, and insulting you in every way they could. And when they didn't need you anymore, they made sure you knew. The hard way. And oh hell, the girls were five million times worse.

Besides the point, he hated listening to them complain to their stupid teenager drama when he had been hunted like an animal his entire life. He'd listen to them whine about their parents and how they had no goddamn freedom while he had spent the weekend killing Carules in another stupid battles. Innocent, little Carules who might have been his enemies, but almost might have had families, and a place to call home.

And even though he convinced himself that he didn't need any friends, somehow, deep down in his cold, icy heart, Ritsu couldn't deny that there was a bit of hope that he would find a friend. No matter how many times he reminded himself, day after day, that his life was a secret that could get him killed, his heart still leaped at the chance.

And he always got hurt, because guys were assholes, and girls were worse.

"No." Ritsu snapped coldly, getting up and heading to the door, his inner battle waged and won.

Hataini bounded after him, grabbing his arm again, and Ritsu stopped, turning around.

"Pretty Pleeeeeeeeeeease?" Hataini pleaded, his dark eyes pooling over with tears.

* * *

And so, not long after, Ritsu found himself standing on the tippity-top level of a high-ass ladder, tangled in crepe paper. He huffed, and blew a stray piece of hair away from his face. His hands itched with a great urge to blast the whole cheap mess with red flames. He could even picture the spell he'd use in his head, but he resisted. No magic here, or he'd be found out and Isaka would have him transfer again.

The brunette glanced around the room, and as his gaze locked on the door, he yearned to escape. He could just climb down the ladder and leave…except for the fact that he had no idea where the bloody hell to go. This campus was massively confusing. It was set up so that the main building, a large, square, three-story of red-bricked terror, was in the middle of four two-story dorms running parallel to each other, connected by neat walkways.

Boys and girls obviously didn't share dorm buildings, (even though that didn't faze any homosexuals that attended the school, including his obviously trannysaurus- rex roommate) and each grade got their own floor.

Since Ritsu was a senior, he was on the top floor of the second building with the other male seniors and juniors, who shared the building on the bottom floor. To his knowledge, the male freshmen and sophomores similarly shared the first building, with the upperclassmen taking the top floor. He could only assume the same was for the girl's dorm, though he wasn't sure that he wanted to find out.

So he understood the dorms. It was getting out of the school that bothered him. It was a labyrinth of hallways that looked exactly the same, with classes on each side, and no fucking distinguishing features whatsoever.

He had been too busy on the way over here with Hataini, biting his tongue to hold back any sarcastic remarks, so he wasn't sure that he could find his way back on his own. And wandering alone and lost like a total retard was not an option he was willing to accept. Which meant that his ass was stuck here, stranded in the middle of crepe-ruins and strings until the gym was done and Hataini was back from their room. What a delight.

"You okay up there? Should I hold the ladder for you?"

Ritsu was shaken out of his thoughts, knocking the tack in place and securing the crepe-paper in place, and looked down. A boy looking around his age tilted his head up at him, eyes too thin to see the color, and his smile widening as he met Ritsu's gaze. His short brown hair framed his face, much like Ritsu's, but much longer towards the back, one pale hand hesitantly resting on the ladder leg. He looked generally attractive, but he gave off a dark aura that gave the brunette shivers, even from on the ladder.

Ritsu mentally noted to keep his guard up in case the man below him is a serial killer.

"Nah, I'm done here. Thanks though." Keeping his tone polite, Ritsu stuck the tape in his black hoody pocket, and carefully placed the last of the tacks between his teeth for safe keeping.

"I'm Kanade Mino, but please call me Mino. This your first year here?" the male said as Ritsu reached the ground.

"Onodera Ritsu. It's actually my first day here," he said around a mouthful of tacks.

"And Shin roped you into this?" Mino shook his head with a little laugh.

"He was crying." Ritsu shrugged, and dragged the ladder across the floor so he could pin the other side up.

"Pfft. Tears of a crocodile at its finest." Mino smirked. "I'll get this side. Jesus, these big-ass ladders are heavy!" he grabbed the other side of the ladder and lifted with a grunt.

"Oh…Thanks then," Ritsu mumbled. He hadn't noticed how heavy the ladder was, in all honesty. In addition to his magic, he was also freakishly strong and fast and coordinated. It was probably to make him the perfect killing machine, but otherwise it didn't do him any good being a normal teen. He never really did like sports, but they always came easy to him, and he was fairly confident he could hold his own against a professional linebacker.

"I've been here a good four years. It's a decent school. You're a senior too, huh?" Ritsu only nodded. "I thought so. You look like you could pass for twenty-one. Though, it probably won't do any good. We're monitored pretty closely here."

Ritsu thought on how to respond when he backed into something, or well, somebody. "Oof!" it squeaked.

"Eh? Kisa? Did you not see us coming straight at you with this giant-ass ladder or something?" Mino growled, and dug his heels right in time steadying the ladder just as Ritsu let go and tumbled into the ground, landing on his butt. Before he could grasp what had just happened, a small raven was on the ground, helping him up, speaking quickly in a high voice. "Are you okay? Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" he apologized, blinking his big brown eyes at the brunette. He had short black hair, and bangs that hardly touched his forehead. The male had yet to lose any baby fat, and the innocence that drawled on his features was obvious.

_Man that brings back memories…_Ritsu thought, remembering having a similar look, what with the haircut and big eyes. He allowed himself to be dragged to his feet by the boy, and found himself looking down on the speed-talking boy.

"Calm down Kisa-san. He's fine," Mino said, his smile not fading as he came along to the other side of the ladder. _Creepy_…Ritsu thought, but shook the thought away. "This is Kisa Shouta."

"Hi!" Kisa said with a cute smile.

"Hey." Ritsu responded. _Gods, he looks like a character from a freakin Shoujo manga…_he thought.

"That's Onodera Ritsu. He's a senior, like us." Mino told Kisa.

Ritsu's chin dropped. "Wait…Y-You're a senior?" He asked, staring down at Kisa incredulously. He then felt slightly guilty and grimaced. Interpersonal communication was not his strongest trait. "I'm sorry…" he started, "I didn't mean…"

"Oh no, it's fine. I actually get that a lot. I look like a fuckin' eleven year old." Kisa said with a slightly impish smile.

Before Ritsu could make himself look more like an ass, Hataini slammed the gym doors open, his presence marked by the loud 'click' of his boots on the floor, demanding attention.

"How the holy hell are you not done yet?" he shrieked.

"Well, I don't think you were any help, now where you?" Mino turned to him, with a smile, rage coming off of him in waves.

"I-I was getting supplies." Hataini sniffed, dumping an armful of supplies on the floor."

"And this took you an hour?" Mino asked, cocking his head to the side.

Ritsu shook his head, and starting climbing back up the ladder, all the while wishing he were anywhere else but here. Fighting in magical battles, surrounded by spells and threats and smoke, that he could understood and could handle. Teenagers were beyond him, even if he was supposed to be one.

"Oh, c'mon ladies. Let's just get done, okay? I'm exhausted." Kisa said all cheerfulness from earlier vanished, as a scowl washed over his features. Ritsu vaguely considered if he was two-faced.

"You wouldn't have been if he had just done his share." Mino spat, and Ritsu smirked to himself at the top of ladder, deciding that he liked Mino.

"Good. Let's get back to work," Hataini called to their backs. No one responded.

* * *

After a good hour or so, Kisa dumped the remaining box of decorations on the floor by Ritsu's ladder. "Hallelujah! We're almost done!" he crowed, throwing up his hands in delight.

Mino laughed from the other side of the ladder. "I think you might even have time to get ready for the ball, Cinderella!"

Ritsu listened to the boys banter for the last hour, and his dark mood –along with his headache- had lightened considerably. The three of them were hot and messy. His hair was now pinned back and out of his face.

He heard Kisa saying something about his lack of a prince charming, and how goddamn painful glass slippers would be, and looked down with a smile. "So, no boyfriend, Kisa?" he asked jokingly.

Kisa put his hands on his hips and shook his head dramatically. "Uh uh. No boy's gonna be tying me down. Boy, let me tell yah, my mama got married young and regretted it ever since. That is not gonna be happening to this boy. No way." He grinned.

Ritsu blinked, wondering if the boy was seriously gay or not, and then to his own surprise, discovered that he didn't mind if he was or wasn't. "Do you then, Mino?" he asked, trying to twist the crepe paper to twist right.

"No. I did my sophomore year, but we broke up before we headed home for summer. Long distance relationships aren't my thing."

Ritsu frowned. His summer had been spent hunting the Carules Prodigy, or fighting in stupid battles. Usually, when the Carules realized he was there, they'd retreat as fast as their little blue balls could carry them, since there was no real point in fighting him. Everyone knew he could only be killed by the Carules prodigy.

No one ever saw his face. His brother-well, half-brother, always cast a shroud spell on him beforehand so that nobody could see him clearly. Shroud spells were his specialty.

Although, just to be safe, he also worse a long black robe and hid in its hood. It had once belonged to Yuu Yanase, Ritsu's great-great-whatever ancestor, and the sorcerer who had started the whole stupid feud three hundred years ago. It was a war that had claimed thousands of lives, but would never go in the history books.

The Carules prodigy never fought. He was such a goddamn coward, allowing his people to be captures rather than risking the Edrens capture him. Although he hated him with all of his might, he felt a sting of jealousy hit him deep. He was a weapon for the Edrens, and weapons should be used, not protected.

"Hello! Riichann!"

Ritsu started and nearly fell off his ladder. "Hey! What?" He gasped, clinging to the top rung. 'Riichan?' The only person that ever called him that was his brother, Misaki…Well, half-brother but who the bloody hell cares?

"I asked if you had a girlfriend? Like a million times?" Mino smiled, brows rising incredulously.

"Or a boyfriend?" Kisa asked in a singsong voice, giving Ritsu an impish grin.

Yup, he was definitely gay.

"Were you daydreaming?" Mino asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Ooooh, what's his name?" Kisa asked, bouncing up and down like a little kid.

"What? No, no, no. I don't have a boyfriend. I don't swing that way. Yes, I was daydreaming. Sorry."

"Aww." Kisa's face fell.

Mino's smile wavered, as he finished going through the leftover supplies. "How does someone who looks like you not have a boyfriend...Geez."

Ritsu didn't have a chance to question him when Hataini interrupted. "Holy Shit! Masamune-kun is coming! He can't see this catastrophe- We're not done!" He squealed, scampering through the door with his boots banging loudly against the gym floor. He killed all the lights, save the small one over the door.

Ritsu watched it all, having being raced with excellent night vision to accompany his magic. Three figures silhouetted in the doorway. Kisa screamed and bumped into Mino, who cursed, and slammed into Ritsu's ladder. His mind ran through spells he knew, searching for one that would hold the ladder.

Unfortunately, his spells were for blowing shit up, not holding things.

Immediately, he flung all his weight to the side, throwing the ladder to the right and away from Kisa, who was standing below. Ritsu could do nothing but crash to the floor. He had just enough time to realize that he had never knowingly been knocked unconscious before, as his head slammed into the wood, and the ladder smashed into his ribs. His ears detected running feat, and light exploded through his blurred vision, and then, there was nothing.

* * *

**Yup. Hataini's a stuck up bitch. Sorry. In the novel that this AU is based off of, Ritsu was actually a girl (a tomboyish girl though, so it worked) but her roommate was a snotty bitch in love with 'Takano' and well…Hataini's the only one that stands a chance playing the part XD**

**Next chapter, you shall meet three new beauties for this story CX **

**So ehm…Review please? :D lols. See you next chapter then~ **


	2. Damsel in Distress?

**Heyyy. Here's chapter two cx Sorry for the late update, I had a game yesterday & I had practice after school. Excuses, Excuses. That's all this poor little girl can offer. XP**

**Anndd now for the wonderful reviews!**

** rosalina: Yay! First review! CX hehe, thanks so much! :D And oh, please do! I promise, her series don't disappoint C:**

** Imagine Wings: Oh, no Ritsu is 100% male in this story xD Sorry. When I wrote this, I couldn't help but think of Ari (the original character) and I kept putting 'she' instead of 'he'. I thought I got them all, but I guess not haha. I went through and fixed them all. Sorry for the confusion haha; Thanks for the review!**

** sekaiichifan: Thanks a bunch & I'll try to update as much as possible! Though, Thursday and Sunday may be my only options for the third chapter, since I have two other games this week & we usually go all-day shopping on Saturdays :P Thanks for reviewing! C:**

** Guest: …Oh my god. I just literally died. Wendy Knight actually read my story!? T-This isn't just some internet joke, right?! *dies from happiness anyways* Lols. If you wanna share, then by all means, go for it~ haha. Thanks for the review! (:**

** TrueLove17yugi-yami: Poor Ritsu indeed D: Buuut he's a stubborn little uke, so I think he'll pull through, no? (; I'm glad you liked it! :D Thanks a bunch for reviewing! CX**

**And to the 12 lovely followers and 2 favorites that this story has received, thank you for being amazing people CX**

**Jeezus Christ, I write too much…**

**Oh my god. I'm so stupid. I was rereading the next few chapters, and found that having An as Ritsu's sister (half-sister) in this series was completely retarded of me. So instead, I guess I'll be putting Misaki in x_x Sorry, but An has been reserved for another position. *coughcoughTristancoughcough***

**Ahem. SO, I've finished the first chapter edits (My apologies for mistakes.) And if you'd like to go back and see for yourself, An no longer has any half-family relevance to Onodera Ritsu xD I can't believe I was an idiot and put him as Will (Ari's brother-from the actual novel 'Feudlings'.)**

**Annnyways, I've officially labeled Yokozawa as 'mama bear' 'big-bear', 'grizzly-bear' and just 'bear', so if you see anything like that randomly in the middle of a sentence, please keep in mind that there will be no I-got-mauled-by-a-bear-accidents in this story. (Or will there? Mwaha-mauled by Suzuki-san-)**

** I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. All rights go to Shungiku Nakamura, the author of the series.**

**I do not own 'Feudlings', or any of the 'Fate on Fire' books. All rights of this alternate universe go to Wendy Knight, the author of these novels.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

"Oi! Masamune! Are you listening to me?" Yokozawa Takafumi asked for the umpteenth time, fuming with anger at his friend. Beside him, Kirishima Zen stood, a wide grin stretched across his face. It never ceased to amuse him how easily his friends could piss each other off.

Masamune ignored him completely, smiling down at the random freshman as he gave her his number. "If you ever need help with anything, feel free to call me." He said, winking an amber orb at her direction. The said girl giggled, and slowly moved away, blushing.

As soon as he was out of the girl's eyesight, he immediately regained his poker face, and turned to his best friend, crossing his arms across his chest.

"That was kind of rude, you know. I was trying to have a conversation with her."

"What the-? You don't even know her!"

"I do now. I would have gotten to know her better if you hadn't kept screaming like a girl on her period."

Face smothered with red, Takafumi opened his mouth to say something, (possibly curses) but was silenced by Zen's fingers, which rested on his lips.

Masamune chuckled when his friend turned red for a whole other reason.

Zen grinned, vaguely aware himself, and looked Masamune straight-on as Takafumi slapped his hand away. "We were trying to tell you that we should probably go check the gym and see how things are going."

"Why? Did you see something bad?" Masamune asked in a serious tone, all childishness aside. Zen sighed, and ran a hand through thick tanned locks. "Well, I may be a Seer, but I don't even have to look, since you put Hataini in charge this year." He groaned.

"Hm? He's pretty artsy. I thought that he'd do a good job." Masamune chided, a slight pout forming on his face.

"Well, you thought wrong, pretty-boy. Remember, you're only my favorite cousin because you're my only cousin." He smirked, playfully shoving him aside.

"Whatever," The ravenette huffed, "but there's no way in hell I'm going alone." He said over his shoulder, advancing into the boy's dorm-building.

"Yeah, yeah. Just hurry up, both of you." Zen nagged, leaning against the wall as Takafumi jogged after Masamune, who headed to their shared dorm room.

"Who are you, my wife?" Takafumi yelled, and instantly regretted it, when he saw the male grin.

"No, but you could certainly be mine. ~" He replied with a wink, and Takafumi wondered how long he was going to look like a tomato.

* * *

Around ten minutes later, Masamune exited the dorms, laughing with a girl – whose name he couldn't remember- after 'coincidentally' running into her on the way back. "For once, can we not be surrounded by girls?" Takafumi grumbled, lagging behind his best friend.

Masamune smiled at his friend. "It's good for you, Takafumi." He laughed, and pretended to listen to the girl as she rambled on, but really, his eyes were on Zen, whose eye's seemed to glow even through his closed-lids.

_Ah, he was practicing his sight._

Back when they were kids, he'd try to explain it to him, but he never quite understood.

_"So basically all I do is focus on a person, right? And then…Everything kind of spins, and my head gets really hot. My heart, too. And then…the different heats meet and, it's almost like an explosion…" He smiled, and then shook his head. "I only stay for a bit though. I don't want to know the kind of crap that's flowing through their heads. It's just practice."_

Masamune shook his head, smiling at the memory. It seemed like decades ago.

When Takafumi unknowingly crossed Zen's field of sight, Shane could tell immediately. Zen's eyes shot open, and the glowing faded away. He stared at Takafumi for a while, and when the brute met the brunette's eyes, he briefly grinned, and then turned away.

"Well, I can see why you're late." Zen muttered when they approached. "You're such a goddamn player, Masamune. It pisses me off," he grumbled, and stared up at the raven. "Black fucking hair, those mesmerizing honey eyes, and…how tall are you again? 6'1? Oh, and you can't forget those razor sharp wits. Catch me Taka-chan, I think I might swoon." He taunted falling backwards just in time for the blushing male to catch him.

Masamune laughed, and ran a hand through his hair, ignoring that the girls that had magically surrounded them practically fainted. "And he knows exactly how to work his goddamn charm…" Takafumi muttered under his breath, and Masamune grinned widely.

It wasn't that Takafumi wasn't attractive; in fact, he had more broad muscle than he would ever care to let Masamune forget. He was taller than his best friend, but way lankier. All Carules, Edrens too, were pretty big, but Takafumi was _huge_, even for them.

"So…Explain to me how the hell you two are best friends again?" Zen questioned, cocking an eyebrow. "You hardly ever talk, and when you do, you're an asshole," Masamune shook his head, his grin growing wider, "and he never shuts up." Zen cocked his head to the mama bear.

"It wasn't a choice. We have to be." Takafumi all but growled.

Zen nodded in understanding, and then turned to Masamune. "But seriously, you're shit is getting pretty damn annoying too." He said, glaring up at the raven.

Takafumi sighed, and sent an annoyed frown over at the girls, leaving Zen to suppress a smile. When nobody moved, the grizzly bear sneered. "Masamune's busy right now, can't you see that?" he growled.

Masamune waved disappointedly at the retreating girls.

"You've pissed Zen off. It's not good for his head for him to keep glaring like that." Takafumi whispered to him.

Zen glared at the bear's direction. "Are we going or not?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, by the way." The ravenette told him, draping a friendly arm around his shoulder. "Well, you should be." Zen sighed. He shared a look with Takafumi, and shook his head. It was impossible for either of them to stay mad at him.

And the grinning Masamune knew it.

* * *

"Huh? Why's the gym so dark?" Masamune wondered aloud as they approached the gym, although he would have appreciated commentary.

He was taken aback when a high-pitched shrill pierced his eardrums, and a loud crash echoed throughout the walls, vibrating against his feet. Without hesitation, he dashed towards the sound, Zen quick on his feet. Takafumi flipped the light switch, and light flooded the gymnasium to reveal a large heavy-duty ladder lain across the floor.

It took him a second to process the still body that lay limp underneath the ladder, and he quickly joined Zen's attempt to lift the bent metal rung off of the person. They had just lifted it up as Kisa pulled Mino up from a heap of sparkles and crepe-paper.

"Oh my god, Riichan! Are you okay?!" Kisa all but shouted, kneeing next to the unconscious boy. Masamune and Zen steadied the ladder, and knelt along with Mino and mama-bear. Mino had carefully flipped the boy over so that he lay on his back, breathing slow, steady breaths. Masamune narrowed his eyes. Did he know this kid? He shot a look at Zen, wondering why the Seer couldn't have seen this coming, but the brunette stared down at the boy in utter confusion.

"Well uh, he ain't bleeding. That's a good sign, right?" Takafumi asked as he looked over the male's figure.

"We have to get him to Nowaki-san!" (A/N: Oh, yes I did.) Masamune said quietly, sliding a noodle arm under the boys head and another under his legs, lifting him up to his chest.

"Are you an idiot? You're not supposed to move him! He could have a neck injury!" Takafumi yelled, his voice obnoxiously loud in the wide gymnasium.

"Too late," Zen replied nonchalantly, pulling the grizzly to his feet. Masamune glanced around wearily, hoping to get away from these people. If he could just have a minute or so alone with the unconscious boy, he could heal him. But…He couldn't do it in front of Kisa and Mino…and Hataini. He exhaled deeply, and caught a whiff of the boy's hair accidently. Smells sweet…He thought, and with newly found determination, he started a quick stride to the nurse's office, hoping all the people would fail to follow.

And of course, that never happened.

As soon as he had laid the boy on the couch, Hiroki-sama, Nowaki-san's assistant and husband, had shooed them out, and locked the door.

Zen and Takafumi leaned against the office wall, Masamune, staring long and hard at the closed door. He wanted in, but he didn't really know why.

Kisa examined Mino's arm that he had hurt, while Hataini glared at the floor like it was a boy with the same high-heels as him.

"I dunno, Mino…I still think you should have Nowaki-san look at this…" the small senior suggested. Mino, of course, simply smiled. "Nah, it's just a bit banged up. It'll be fine." He shrugged. Kisa sighed, and then turned to Hataini in rage. "What the fucking hell where you thinking?!"

"He wasn't," Mino smiled, but the rage surrounding him was obvious.

"Okay, Okay. Take it easy fellas," Zen raised a hand, signaling them to shut the hell up. And they did, of course, because although Zen wasn't athletically built like Masamune or Takafumi, he still had quite a way with blackmailing, and neither of them wanted on his bad side.

"What happened?" Takafumi questioned, crossing his arms across his chest. Masamune said nothing, but waited, slightly impatient with the lack of answers.

"We were decorating the fucking gym, and Ritsu was up on that stupid-ass ladder, and Mr. Drag Queen over there shut off the goddamn lights!" Kisa shouted, his small body not matching his big mouth.

"Um…And you did this why, exactly?" Zen asked, cocking an eyebrow at Hataini who still glared at the floor.

The drag queen moved his glare to Zen, who didn't even flinch. "_Because,_ I didn't want any of you to see the gym yet! It was _supposed_ to be a surprise. None of this would have even happened if you hadn't shown up."

"Oh, so you're saying this is our fault?" Masamune asked incredulously, his anger rising a little bit.

"No, no, no. Of course not. I didn't mean that, Masamune-kun." Hataini said, resting a hand on the ravenette's shoulder and smiling up at him.

"Fucking crocodile." Kisa muttered, and Zen bit back a smile.

"Mino, come sit down. I want to look at your arm." He said, thunking the smiling male into a chair. "Hataini," he started, staring calmly at the brunette, "you are alone in a room full of very hostile people, who don't have you in their best interest right now." Zen stated, keeping his composure. "The dance starts soon. Go finish decorating." He said, cocking his head at Takafumi, and turning to Mino. Takafumi got the message, and started shoving the drag queen out of the door.

"W-Wait! I'm supposed to do this all by myself?" Hataini complained, and then stormed off when no answer came.

"So…Will he be alright?" Takafumi asked Zen, stealing a nervous glance at the nurse's door.

"Zen frowned, and shook his head. "I…I don't know."

"Huh? What do you mean, you don't know?" Masamune exclaimed. Takafumi's head rose sharply.

"Well, he isn't a doctor, is he? How would he know?" Kisa snapped, and Mino patted his shoulder to calm him a bit. Masamune cursed under his breath. He forgot that those two were here. He shot a worried glance to Zen as Takafumi stormed out the door. They bid the two boys a farewell, and followed the grizzly. He was already halfway down the empty hallway when they managed to catch up.

"You didn't see him fall, did you?" The bear asked, looking Zen in the eye. The Seer shook his head. "And you can't see him now?" Again, he shook his head. Takafumi pursed his lips into a thin line. "We need to get out of here. Now." He said, and glared down the hall.

"What the hell?" Masamune asked, unamused by his friends antics.

"There's only one reason Zen wouldn't be able to see all that," Takafumi chided, ignoring Masamune.

Zen crossed his arms, glaring at the grizzly. "There's two reasons, sweetheart. Either that boy who was knocked out by a goddamn ladder was the prodigy that Masamune is supposed to kill to end this stupid-ass war, or I'm a shitty-ass excuse of a Seer. Hm. Tough one. Can I have a clue?"

"Takafumi, He's a boy. The Edren Prodigy is a girl. Everybody knows that." Masamune said, and turned to Zen. "You are _not_ a shitty-ass Seer."

When Zen was born, it had thoroughly excited The Council. The Council was a combination of six powerful sorcerers that ruled the Carules. Zen was born into a family of fairly strong Carules sorcerers. However, when they found no traces of Carules magic, only the gift of sight, and a weak one to their standards, Zen was raised feeling worthless, and treated like trash. He'd lost a lot of confidence over the years, and it was Masamune's inner-goal to help him regain it all back.

However, Takafumi didn't seem to mind. "Show me where it says the Prodigy is a girl, Masamune."

"Well…Have you ever looked at the Edren Prodigy?" Masamune questioned.

"Yeah, I've seen _him_ plenty of times. Killing Carules." Takafumi replied.

"No, No. I mean _really_ looked at _her_."

"Oh my fucking god Masamune. You didn't."

"I'm not saying I did, but…Hips don't lie, Takafumi."

"You've been checking out the Edren Prodigy?!"

"Hey, you've had to have noticed those curves too man."

Takafumi face palmed. "All we've ever seen is the Prodigy clouded in a shroud spell, on top of a black hooded robe. It could be Kisa for all we fucking know. And males are scientifically proven to be more aggressive, than females, and I think we all know that that Edren kicks some serious ass. Besides, _Zen can't see him_."

"I can't see a lot of people, Takafumi. You know that." Zen said, ignoring the ravenette.

"You can't see the prodigy either."

"Are you seriously getting all worked up because Zen can't see him? I held him in my arms, Takafumi. I think I would fucking know if I was holding the Prodigy." Masamune's voice dropped, anger seething through his amber eyes. "There were no magical traces on him. At all."

"Seriously? None?" Takafumi asked in disbelief. Masamune processed that his best friend was being completely serious. He generally believed that the boy in the nurse's office was the Prodigy.

"None, Takafumi." He responded.

Zen sighed, and started up the hall, hands in his hoodies pocket. "Don't be stupid Takafumi, there's no way that boy's the Prodigy. Besides, everyone knows that the Family keeps their little warrior close in case they need him-"

"It's a _her_," Masamune insisted.

Zen glared at him, but continued on nonetheless. "Everyone knows that they keep _her_ close in case they need her for a fight. They're not stupid enough to send her to a fucking boarding school where she's unprotected, and out of their reach."

"He's got a point, Takafumi." Masamune grinned, but the grizzly bear scowled at the ground.

* * *

Ritsu's fingers twitched against the bed, doing everything they could to bring him to consciousness. The brunette was trapped in a dream he had seen a thousand times before, but was never interrupted before playing all the way through. It was simply a painful nightmare. That was all.

_Yuu glared out at the storm. Lightning struck, seven, eight, nine times; splitting the sky with such light that it seemed like morning. Thunder rolled in, shaking the house, the fine chandelier that hangs from the ceiling shaking back at forth. It was the worst storm he had ever seen, and it had ruined his wedding. Instead of the grand fairytale name had been expecting, the envy of every girl ever to exist, it was a muddy, embarrassing mess. All that hard work and planning, for nothing._

_Not only that, but the worthless servants had been too afraid of the storm to travel to his home, and retrieve the trunk he had forgotten, and he couldn't possibly have his wedding night without that trunk. Hatori, his forced new groom, had bravely gone to retrieve it, and the horrid storm was slowing him, he thought with a stamp of his foot. _

_Name screamed as a flash of lightning filled the room, followed by blue magic that shattered the window to pieces. An stormed through, fury marking her features. "You're all alone, Yuu. There's nowhere to go. You have less than I do, now." She laughed, tracing a spell in the air before the male had time to respond. In a single moment, she was gone. She and her mother had always been good at saldapement spells, spells that allowed instant transport to another place through magical portals of some sort. Edrens, for some unknown reason, could rarely do saldapement spells, something that annoyed his step-father to no end._

_Father. His heart beat loudly in his chest. He sprinted for Hatori's stables, and mounted his fastest horse. He pushed, faster and faster as he rode through the blackened tree stumps that had once elegantly marked his father's home. _

_Despite the hasty storm, hungry blue flames swept across the horizon for miles and miles on end._

_Yuu recognized the lifeless lumps on the ground as his father's strongest guards, and his eyes widened as he took in his father's crumpled form. He jumped off his horse, screaming in agony as he looked around for anything that looked alive. He glanced around, only to see a mud-coated figure still as stone on the ground._

_"Hatori…" he whispered, and even though he had disliked the man with as much hatred he could muster, he was upset by the thought of never seeing him again. He heard a groan, and turned to see his father tossing his head on the ground. "Father!" he yelled, and ran to his side._

_"Gone…They're all…gone...trapped inside…" the duke whispered weakly. _

_Yuu's horrified eyes glanced at his old family home, which was still lit up by a ferocious blue flame. No one could have possibly survived that, and the hotness of the h inferno singed his eyebrows. _

_He narrowed his eyes, and turned to his father. "I'll find her, Father. I…I'll destroy everything she has left. I will avenge our families honor," he spat out bitterly, tears threatening to fall from his eyes._

_His father's grip on his arm was suddenly very tight, and he watched as his gaze darkened upon him. "Then you must summon the Edrens. They will come to your aide." He spoke quietly._

_The Edrens. Sorcerers that through red-flames. His very own family._

Before he fully hit consciousness, Ritsu groaned as a horrible ache throbbed in his head, his upper body screaming in pain. He tentatively opened his eyes, slowly surveying the dim, blurry room. He glanced at the closed curtains, and shook the blurriness away.

Of course, it was that dream again. How could he dream anything else? It seemed like the only thing he ever dreamt of anymore. Yuu Yanase was his great ancestor, and the Edren that was responsible for starting the stupid ass war, although the blue-flamed sorcerers where mostly to blame.

He shook his head. It was all stupid, in his opinion. Although, if he were Yuu back then, he probably would have done the same. Even if it meant war for his future relatives.

A shadow moved across the room, and Ritsu shot up in defense. _Bad move,_ his brain screamed, as black spots covered his vision, and the throbbing intensified, as he trembled from the intensity. He raised an arm to draw a protective spell over himself, but it fell limp, against the bed as he struggled to stay conscious. _If I black out now…I could die, _he reminded himself, and held his head close to his chest.

"Are you crazy!? Lay down right this instant!" a man's voice shouted, and Ritsu, startled, slowly turned to face the voice. A man no older than his late twenties stood there, burgundy eyes narrowed as his face was red with rage. Beside him, stood a younger – and much taller- man with kind blue eyes that regarded him calmly. Ritsu stared at them in confusion.

"You've had a pretty bad fall, you know. You should stay still, or we may have to take you to the hospital." The taller one said, smiling gently at the brunette, flipping on a lamp that stood by Ritsu's bed. Ritsu flinched at the sudden invasion of light, but said nothing, since the other man across the room glared at him with fiery intensity that he couldn't handle in his current condition.

"Hiro-san, go fetch him some pain killers, please." The kind man said, giving Ritsu a sympathetic smile before shining a light into his eyes. Ritsu flinched, but sat still, and the man gently patted his head. "Gomen," he said with such sincerity, the teenager didn't know how to respond. "You have a concussion, but it doesn't seem too bad."

Ritsu nodded gently, and slowly lay back against the pillows. "You're the school nurse," he said quietly, as realization dawned on him.

The man smiled. "That's me. Call me Nowaki. That's Hiro-san, my assistant," the blue-eyed man said as 'Hiro-san' came over with the pain killers. Ritsu couldn't tell if his face was red because he was still angry, or if he was blushing.

Nowaki handed him a glass of water, and Ritsu swallowed the pain killers without a problem. "Takano-san brought you in here a few minutes ago. He said that you were knocked off of a ladder, but they're trying to figure out what happened right now. It's definitely not your fault, though, if that makes it any better."

Ritsu looked up at the nurse, raising a brow. "_Takano-san?"_

"Good lord, we've found a pure one." Hiroki muttered under his breath, but Nowaki ignored him, raising an eyebrow at the injured brunet. "Well, I'll be. I thought everyone here knew who Takano Masamune is." He said, laughing a little.

Ritsu attempted a shrug, and winced from the sudden pain in his neck. "Well, it's kind of my first day here," he gulped.

"Really? Welcome, then!" Nowaki cheered, and clapped his hands together. "Anyways, please try to rest your shoulder, since you landed pretty hard on it. It may be a bit sore, but try to put up with it, alright?" the blue-eyed man pointed out obviously, but Ritsu couldn't bring himself to say anything sarcastic when the nurse smiled kindly at him. So he simply nodded.

Hiroki stood in the doorway, scowling at the teenager. "We tried to reach your grandfather, but there was no one who could find him."

"Oh…" Ritsu said quietly, mentally cursing. He hoped that they wouldn't have tried to contact Isaka. Though technically, he had no real relation to the man, he was still his legal guardian, and 'grandfather' was just a code name.

"Well, I did get ahold of your father though. I let him know what happened," Hiroki muttered, and then cocked his head in thought. "It was completely accidental that I even reached him, though. He wasn't on your list of contacts."

_Who would've known_, Ritsu thought bitterly.

The pills he swallowed earlier had started coming into effect, working with the red flames that coursed through his body, trying to heal him. He was become very, very sleepy. He tried to stay awake, as he couldn't very well fight a Carules in his sleep (or maybe he could, he'd never tried it before.) In an attempt to stay cautious, his mind flipped through spells the Carules had that could (attempt) to kill him.

In the olden days, the Carules magic was for defensive uses, as well as healing and transporting. Over the decades, it had evolved to be more offensive like the magic Edrens possessed, but not nearly as strong. However, there were way more Carules fighting in the war than Edrens, so even though they were powerful, the Carules outnumbered them. So, I guess I can try fighting a Carules in my sleep…It shouldn't be too bad, he thought as he eyes slowly drifted into what seemed like a painless, calm sleep.

He was shook by Hiroki, who glared down at him as he rubbed his eyes. "If you don't stay conscious, we'll have to drag you to the hospital. Do you want that?" he asked angrily, and the brunette shook his head quickly. Nowaki sighed, and sent an apologetic smile at Ritsu as he flashed the light in his eyes again. Ritsu gritted his teeth, vowing not to sleep again until they allowed him.

Carules, he could handle. Bright-ass lights in his eyes, he could not.

* * *

"Well, well, well. Looks like Hataini out-did himself on the fabulizing," Zen grinned as he and Masamune entered the balloon-infested gym. Yokozawa trailed behind them, murmuring excuses and complaints about not going to the dance, but refusing to leave Masamune out of his sight after the interaction with that new boy.

The room was a flash of colors as students garbed in beautiful dresses and handsome suits danced around, and the music throbbed against the floors in an upbeat rhythm.

"Oh, I can assure you that Hataini had nothing to do with it." Mino said calmly, approaching the three in an old-fashioned grey suit, fashioned by a bright yellow bowtie. Most people couldn't pull such a thing off, but Mino looked handsome as could be.

"You look great, Mino." Zen said, smiling at his friend. Mino, of course, smiled back, and nodded in thanks.

Yokozawa grinned. "Yeah, that's a nice bowtie you got the-"

"Hey Mino, you were hanging around the nurse's office after we left, right?" Masamune interrupted, ignoring as his friend glared at him in annoyance, but curiously shifted his gaze over to Mino.

Mino turned to Masamune, and the ravenette watched as Mino's eyes were opened ever-so-slightly-more than the usual. He then nodded at Masamune's dark black suit with his red tie, and dress paints. "Those clothes do you a good deal, Masamune. Do you iron yourself?" he asked.

Masamune couldn't resist a grin. Mino was an odd one alright.

"Hey, hey! Takafumi looks good too! Big, dark, and sexy~ Do I get a return compliment?" Kisa teased with a wink.

Takafumi rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. I hardly even exist when 'Takano' is around," he growled, but stood up straighter, and fixed his black tie that coincidentally matched his entire wardrobe, and returned the wink to Kisa.

Mino turned back to Masamune. "Yeah, I was in the office while Nowaki checked my arm. He cleaned it for me, but then Hiroki sent me off. He wouldn't let us see Ritsu though. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Ritsu?" Masamune questioned, ignoring the fact that Zen was somewhat herding them like sheep away from the entrance, and into a small corner.

"Yeah, who is he by the way?" Takafumi probed, not daring to glance at his friend. Zen rolled his eyes, and the grizzly bear pretended that he didn't notice.

"Oh? His name's Onodera Ritsu. He's Hataini's new roommate, the poor soul. Riichan, not Hataini." Kisa explained, wrinkling his little nose up.

"Onodera, huh? Where'd he come from?" This time, he sent a guilty look at Masamune, and his eyes narrowed when his best friend ignored him.

"He didn't really say, now that I think about it." Mino said; smile wavering, and then widening back into face. Kisa, noticing the bear's face fall flat, wiggled into the conversation. "Well, we do know that he doesn't have a boyfriend, if you're interested. Boy is he a cuuuutie!" He exclaimed in his light blue suit and pants, a light pink tie sticking out against the hue. His bangs were slightly straightened, and he stood up straight, attempting to look as tall as possible.

"They saw him, remember?" Mino reminded him with a grin. "I'm not gay, but I don't really see how anyone could _not_ be interested."

Masamune laughed, and held up both hands in retreat. "Sorry, but I'm still mending my broken heart. Kyo-chan did me in." he lied, and Takafumi watched the pain in his eyes fade in, and then out just ask quickly.

"Oh, no she did not. You so totally broke hers! Don't forget, we _know _you, Masamune." Kisa responded, with a hand on his hip, Mino by his side who nodded in agreement.

"The whole goddamn school knows, Masamune. Get over it," Zen rolled his eyes at his friend's mock hurt, but like Takafumi, he saw the pain in those amber eyes. It was true; Kyo-chan hadn't broken his heart, since in the end he was the one that dumped her. He was pained by someone who had hurt him a very long time ago.

"So, did Onodera-san happen to say anything about his reasons for attending here?" Takafumi interrupted.

"Oh, shut your trap, Takafumi!" Zen snapped, but it was lost in the roaring music.

Kisa looked at him like he was on crack, and Mino shook his head. "Nope. He wasn't much of a talker, kinda awkward, actually."

Masamune had hundreds of questions to interview the two with when suddenly a wild flock of girls appeared. (A/N: xDD) "Ugh, sorry Masamune. I tried my best to hide you." Zen struggled against the flow of the female population. _Ah, that's what he was doing earlier,_ Masamune realized. Sometimes, Zen's gift could be amazing, but not amazing enough to protect him from a flock of girls. That was something even Takafumi couldn't handle. Just this once, he was a little pissed off. He wanted- no, he _needed_ to know more about that boy. _Ah, even the name sounds familiar. Ritsu…_

Takafumi watched with a frown as Masamune was dragged out onto the dance floor with some random blonde chick, laughing with a fake smile plastered on his face. "Hey Kisa, dance with me? I have to keep an eye out for my boy." He asked. Masamune wanted to yell at him for being an idiot, and that he didn't need a babysitter, but that would probably seem quite rude to the prissy little bitch in front of him.

Kisa rolled his eyes. "Boy, is it getting hot in here? Because you're just throwing spark after spark, Mr. Grizzly Bear." He responded dryly.

"Ex-Alert." Mino warned, and the males turned to see the sight of Kisa's obnoxiously aggravating shadow all of last year, a tall, chubby boy named Otoko. He was desperately shoving his way through the crowd to the tiny ravenette.

Kisa quickly latched onto Takafumi's arm, and dragged him to the dance floor. Masamune glanced around and saw that Mino was dancing half-heartedly with a girl whose name he didn't really remember. _I've seriously got to work on my names…_he thought, and glanced back to Zen. He wasn't there. He saw that Takafumi was also looking for the Seer, and frowned to himself, looking over the crowded room one more time.

"Uh, Hello? Are you even listening, mama-bear? Your dancing is embarrassing me." Kisa teased, as Takafumi awkwardly danced to the music. "Who're you calling 'mama-bear'?" he asked, grinning as he moved to the beat. "Alright, try to keep up, shorty." He said, meeting Masamune's impish grin from across the gym.

* * *

Ritsu could hear the music pounding through the halls, and felt lucky for his concussion keeping him in the infirmary. It was a better excuse he could ever make up for not participating. He laid still, eyes closed and ears alert, listening for any possible threat. Isaka would be very disappointed if he saw him like this. He'd probably zap him with that little curly-cue spell that stung like hell, and left all sorts of scars. Isaka must have made it up, he decided, since he had searched for it in the spell books for years, and never found any trace.

Making up spells, however, was only something powerful sorcerers can do.

Of course, he had made up plenty of spells during his lifetime. He even perfected a copy of Isaka's little curly-cue, only that his left large scars, and immersive bleeding. That's when he realized that he could make up his own, and that his were very powerful.

Powerful and painful. And a hell of a lot more deadly.

_Okay, and now we're done with this conversation_, he thought to himself, and about jumped out of his skin when he heard an annoyed sigh.

His eyes shot open, fighting the pain that sparked in his head as he tried to focus on what looked like an irritated angel sitting on the bed next to his. Nobody else was currently held in the infirmary, since school hadn't technically started yet. And he was sure that most people weren't clumsy enough to hurt themselves on the first day.

"Well, I had a feeling you were awake. Thanks for acknowledging me, I guess. I was pretty bored just sitting here," the angel yawned, brown eyes studying the brunette. Ritsu propped himself up with his good arm, and hissed at the pain that came with it. "So, how do you feel?" the male asked, a bored, uninterested look decorating his face.

Ritsu blinked the blurriness out of his emerald orbs. "Uh, do I know you?"

"Nope," the angel responded calmly. Ritsu narrowed his eyes, his lips pressed into a thin line as he waited impatiently. "See? Just sitting there is pretty damn annoying." The angel said, with a grin. "I actually helped rescue you," he continued."

"Eh?" Ritsu asked.

"Um…From the ladder? When you fell?" the male spoke carefully, as if conversing with someone with less intelligence of himself.

"Oh. Uh…thanks then."

The angel grinned, and Ritsu could now make out a pale, yet kind face decorated by silky caramel hair and warm honey eyes. "My name's Kirishima Zen. Call me Zen, though."

"N-Nice to meet you, Zen." Ritsu stuttered, suddenly feeling very awkward due to the male's obvious confidence. He never had much confidence, even in battle. Zen was extremely pale, wearing an all-white tuxedo, leading Ritsu to conclude that he was sadly, not an angel, but just another highschooler attending the dance.

"My cousin brought you in." Zen said when Ritsu took too long to answer.

Ritsu blinked.

"Well, we were all pretty shook up about what happened, so I came to see how you're doing," he continued, fake consideration in his voice._ He probably doesn't give two shits_, Ritsu thought.

Emerald orb's narrowed down, filled with distrust and suspicion. "So, you're telling me that you snuck out of the dance and the school nurse(s) just to sit on an empty bed and stare at me until I responded just to make sure I was okay?" he asked, and wasn't sure what to expect. Blue flames would be one thing, venom from his mouth would be another.

Zen, of course, had the audacity to laugh. "You're a feisty one, aren't 'cha? Ooh, mama-bear's gonna love you." He said, grinning at him with humor in his eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyways, I regret to inform you that you are incorrect, Onodera-san." The male sighed, examining his nails.

Ritsu studied him closer. He was fairly attractive, and he found no traces of Carules magic on him at all. So in reality, he was probably just you're average teenage boy, ready to beat on the new kid. Ritsu sighed. He was getting real tired of all this bullshit.

"Okay, let me guess then. You're here to beat me up because you don't like the new kids? Or, somebody told you I was hotter than you? Or maybe you want to pretend to be friends with me, and then ruin my social life forever? Oh, then again, there's always the chance I could be out to steal your girlfriend, right? Wouldn't want that to happen." He groaned, obviously annoyed. Zen raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to respond, but Ritsu held up his hand. "Look. I don't want friends, and I don't date people anyways. So just leave me alone, okay? I've seen it all before." He said, his determined green eyes met Zen's honey ones stubbornly.

Zen chuckled. "Uh, you done there bud?" he snickered.

"Uh…What? No…I-I mean, uh…I don't…Well, I mean, why else would you sneak in here?"

Zen stood with a frown, and regarded Ritsu like a toddler. "I told you, I didn't sneak away. I'd have asked Nowaki to let me see you, if he were actually here. Probably having sex with Hiroki somewhere. So, I let myself in. Happy? Jesus, are you always so goddamn crabby?"

Ritsu blinked at him like an idiot.

"You look absolutely horrendous, by the way. So I wouldn't get too cocky about being a better looker than me," Zen winked, grabbing a mirror out of the bedside drawer and handing it to him.

"Well, I mean…Fuck, I look terrible." Ritsu groaned, staring at his black and purple face that swelled up far too much.

"Yep," Zen agreed cheerfully.

Ritsu looked up at him curiously. "So…if you didn't sneak out, then what do you want?"

Zen gaped at him for a moment, before resting both hands on his hips and cocking his eyebrow at the brunette. "To see how you were doing! Jesus Christ! Hasn't anyone ever fucking checked on your well-being before?" he snapped.

"Not without ulterior motives," Ritsu answered quietly.

Zen's face softened and he pressed his lips into a thin line. "That's pretty sad, man." He said, and Ritsu could hear the sincerity in his voice. There was a comfortable silence between the two, before Zen suddenly shot up, and half-ran to the door.

"Well, nice chatting with you. I'll be back to check on you, no ulterior motives included!" he yelled as he sprinted out of the doorway. Seconds later, Nowaki walked into the room, eyes widening when he saw Ritsu sitting up. "Onodera-san…Are you alright?" he asked, concernedly. Ritsu blinked, and then nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said, and lay back down. Glancing at the doorway, he caught sight of a bright-red Hiroki, whose shirt was no longer tightly tucked into his pants.

_Dear god,_ he thought, squirming slightly uncomfortably. _I'm surrounded by homosexuals…_

* * *

Ritsu drifted out of sleep as the days passed by. He had been in the infirmary Friday, Saturday, and now Sunday. As he woke up, he vaguely suspected it to be dinner time, sniffing the air for the faint smell of the cafeteria's food. He sighed, and rubbed his temple, wondering when the awful headache would go away. He stared up at the ceiling, counting how many tiles were on each row. His ears listened closely for something, anything that might ease his boredom.

"Is Onodera doing alright?" a male voice from Nowaki's office asked, and Ritsu immediately turned to face the sound. It was…somewhat familiar, but oddly enough, he heard worry in the male's tone.

"He's asleep at the moment. That's the best thing that he can do, unfortunately," Nowaki said politely.

"Can I see him then? I've been pretty worried since I brought him in, you know. I think I have a right to see how my damsel in distress is doing." The male replied. _'Damsel in distress'? Really?_ Ritsu thought, irritated.

He could practically hear Nowaki's smile from the other room. "I'm sorry, Masamune. Of all his visitors, you would be the first I would let in, but as I said earlier, the best thing for him right now is sleep. He'll be in class on Monday, so you can check in with him then." He answered calmly.

"But-"

"Didn't you hear him? We're not letting you in, so shoo!" Hiroki yelled, and Ritsu had to suppress a giggle.

"We'll tell him that you stopped by, Takano-san." Nowaki said quietly, and the small 'click' of the door announced that the boy had left the infirmary.

_Weird…I swear, his voice was really familiar…_Ritsu thought, and lay back down, finding a comfortable position.

_Oh well,_ he mentally shrugged the thoughts off, and fell back asleep.

* * *

It was well past curfew for the other students when Nowaki had gently woken him up, given him some pain killers, and sent him on his way to his dorm, with Hiroki to accompany him. He was informed of his various visitors, but he didn't bother asking who. He didn't want friends here, and he certainly didn't need them.

He was both excited and nervous to have his cellphone around, when he would return to his dorm. His family got into trouble sometimes…And he was sure that Isaka was going crazy without him returning his texts. However, it was nice to have it all off his back for a while, even if he was bored as fuck in the infirmary.

As they traveled across the pavilion, Ritsu took in the scenery he all-but-ignored on his arrival. The school itself was far away from the city, set out in a forestry area, with trails twisting and turning in a maze of trees. He would have to go exploring sometime, he decided.

"So uh…Thanks for escorting me back, you know, without letting any ladders fall on me." Ritsu said awkwardly as they reached his room. Hiroki grinned, but didn't reply. Ritsu bowed, and quietly slipped into his dorm, leaving the nurse in the hall.

Immediately, he found himself staring at his phone, which was lying dead on his pillow. He plugged in the charger, and considered for a moment, before putting it down on his dresser. He wasn't going to check his phone tonight. Tonight, he refused to be a hunter, or a warrior, and hunt down any blue Carules magic.

Tonight, he would be a new senior about to start his life in a new high school.

And if it got him killed, then so be it.

* * *

**I made up a word, by the way. It's 'fabulizing', and it means to make something 100.1% fabulous. **

**Ahem. I apologize for the late upload.**

**Anyways, yup, that's chapter two, alright. Sorry again, for uploading so late!**

**Thanks for reading! See you next chapter~**


	3. Are you a football fan?

**Hey there! I'm not sure whether this chapter will be uploaded on Thursday, or Friday. But either way, uh…sorry for the short chapter ^^; **

**Anyways, to the lovely reviewers:**

** Imagine Wings: Awww, thank you so much! :D Yes, I plan on including bunches of Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Junjou Romantica characters. (If you want, I can throw in a little scene for Kisa and Yukina, wink wink.) Oh my god. It took forever trying to find characters to fit roles in the Carules & Edrens past. I think I did okay, but I probably could've chosen better now that I think about it xP I'm glad you liked it :D Thanks for reviewing (again!)**

** Tinkle the Bunny: Ahh, sorry. I'm not too good with grammar yet haha…I really didn't mean to make Hataini so OOC, but…I mean…It just kinda happened? I don't know. Sorry, lols. I'll make him better, eventually XP Oh, please read Feudlings! It has a lot more than new schools and personal experiences with friends, I promise CX Thanks for reviewing!**

**I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. All rights go to Shungiku Nakamura, the author of the series.**

**I do not own 'Feudlings', or any of the 'Fate on Fire' books. All rights of this alternate universe go to Wendy Knight, the author of these novels.**

**See? I can talk less if I wanna XP**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

"Oh? You made it back? I didn't even hear you come in last night," a sleepy Hataini muttered the next morning, sending off strong fumes of cologne. Ritsu glanced at him through the corner of his eye, but didn't bother responding. Hataini, who couldn't take a hint, continued on.

"So, you missed literally the _best_ dance this school has ever had. Such a pity, I'm sorry you couldn't go," the male said with no apologetic traces in his tone. Not like Ritsu expected as much, anyways.

"I danced with Masamune-chan twice! I'm pretty sure he wanted to a few other times, but hey, it's not like I was just sitting around waiting for him, y'know? I had girls waiting for me too so…Uh, hello? Where the hell are you going? I was talking to you, asshole!" he screamed when he noticed that his roommate had risen and walked out.

"Oh? You were talking to me? Sorry, I wasn't aware. Please, continue," Ritsu called over his shoulder as he continued down the crowded hallway, making his way to the staircase. He snickered when he heard a slam of the door, and shook his head in amusement.

Of course, he was slightly taller than most boys in the dorm buildings, so blending in wasn't much of an option. But thanks to Hataini and that stupid-ass ladder, his black and blue side of his face was like a painting for everyone to see. He ignored the pungent odor of deodorant, and stares and whispers directed in his direction. He expected them anyways, the whispers, not the deodorant.

Standing up straight, he made his way through the hallway half-heartedly. It was almost as easy as brushing his teeth, as he did three times a day. He refused to go to the dentist. That shit was scary.

So you can't say he wasn't surprised when he was almost run over by a tiny, black-haired senior and his smiling friend. "Riichann! I'm so happy that they let you out!" Kisa exclaimed, clinging to his right arm, and Ritsu stopped, staring back and forth between the two, slightly confused.

"Girl, we were _so _worried about you. We thought that they'd make you miss the first day of school. We came to check on you a thousand times, but they wouldn't let us in! Right?" the tiny senior looked to Mino, who simply smiled and nodded, grabbing Ritsu's left arm. Well shit. Ritsu was surrounded. The two started dragging him forward, as he blocked the flow of traffic on the staircase. Ritsu, who was physically and mentally unprepared for such an act of kindness, felt his face heat up as a small blush rose on his cheeks.

"If we get outside in time, we can show you were some of your classes will be before we go to ours," Mino suggested, and Kisa beamed, half-skipping and half-running out of the dorms.

When they were outside, they compared schedules, Mino and Kisa chattering lively while Ritsu awkwardly stayed silent.

"Oh, look Kisa, we all have Chemistry together," Mino pointed out, and Kisa's face lit up. " Ooooh! I've had Yukina-sama before! He's so fucking ho-I mean, he's a great teacher…." Kisa said. Mino laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You never shut up about the guy," he said, smiling wider as Kisa punched his shoulder playfully, a blush decorating his features. Ritsu tried not to smile.

The brunette glimpsed around, emerald orbs taking in the plain bricked-in dorms that he hadn't even had the chance to be bored in yet. The main building stood a tall two-stories, surrounded by bushes that without a doubt had many tiny insects crawling and squirming around in them. Ritsu shivered. He hated bugs.

His eyes trailed elsewhere, taking in the gorgeous lawns that were between the dorms and the main building, decorated by flowers, and trees, and small pathways.

"Ooooh, and then we've got…Hey! Whatcha lookin' at, huh? Haven't you girls ever seen a supermodel before?" Kisa snapped at a bunch of sophomore girls who had been staring at Ritsu from a distance. Ritsu hadn't even noticed them. Kisa sent Ritsu and impish grin as the girls guiltily backed off. Ritsu knew that they were probably just staring at his beaten-up face, but he grinned back as the smaller senior threw his arm through the brunette's arm.

"We've both got calculus, for first period. Who the hell made these schedules, anyways? My brain can't handle math so early in the morning," Kisa muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well, I've got art. Which is unfortunately about as far from you two as I can get," Mino sighed, looping his arm through Ritsu's free one. If the brunette didn't know any better, he'd think they were making sure he didn't make a run for it. Luckily, Ritsu didn't run from anything_. Ever._

"Ah, Art's my second period…Let's see what you have, Riichan!" Kisa sang, reading through his schedule. Ritsu said nothing, and allowed himself to be dragged across the campus with the two boys, and eventually tuned in on their conversation.

"Oh my god, Ritsu. You and I have Haruhiko-san this year. Sorry, but History's gonna be a dick up the ass." Kisa sighed dramatically. "I had him freshman year," Mino added in. "He's a toughie."

"Me too! Oh wait, never mind, I had him my sophomore year with Ichimura-kun. He's such a cutie!" Kisa said, sighing in nostalgia.

"I can agree with that. I haven't seen him around lately, though. Is something up?" Mino questioned, curiously.

"Oh, he does work study. He only has two or three classes on campus," Kisa replied, and Mino nodded.

In a flash, Ritsu realized how distracted these two had made them. He quickly glanced around for any traces of blue magic, and when he saw none, let out a sigh of relief. Thank god, that would've been ugly.

See, when a spell is thrown, should it be casted by an Edren or a Carules, it gave off a somewhat magical mist that was kind of like throwing a pebble in a still pong. Ripples flowed out and away from where the spell was thrown, getting fainter and fainter as the seconds tick by. It was the first clue that gave away his enemies. It kinda helped that he was the only one who could see them, too, along with the Carules prodigy, he assumed. He was always watching for magic traces, or at least he was supposed to.

"C'mon Riichan, this way! Bye, Mino-san!"

Mino gave a polite wave over his shoulder, and walked the opposite direction of the other two seniors.

Kisa sighed, and shook his head, grinning up and Ritsu. "I hope those ribs of yours are fixed, because we've got a heavy two-story hike ahead. As you can see, this is one of the many reasons that we don't have an obesity problem at our school," he joked as they started up the winding staircase. Ritsu could resist the grin.

"So the cafeteria's here, Gym's down there, and well, you know where the Infirmary is, I assume." Kisa smiled. " Well, you're history class is on the second floor, down the second hall and around the corner."

Ritsu was five times more lost when he arrived in their class than when he entered the building.

The noise in the room died down instantly as he and Kisa walked in the room. He raised a proud head, his eyes scanning the room for an empty seat, ignoring the curious gazes of the other students.

"Hey, Takafumi-kun! You saved us seats? I knew I loved you. Hey, Riichan! Where do you think you're going? Sit your ass down, son!" Kisa called, as he settled in a seat near the back next to a large boy. Ritsu blinked over at him incredulously. He wasn't used to people asking him so sit with them.

"Oh, come on people. He's new. He's fucking adorable. Get over it," Kisa all but announced to the class, examining his nails with no interest.

Ritsu blushed, and hurried to the back of the room. "Will you please quit that?" he said through clenched teeth, sinking into the seat next to the small senior.

"Quit what?" Kisa asked innocently.

"T-Telling everyone I'm…cute."

"Why? It's the truth, you're fucking adorable, and you shouldn't let that son-of-a-bitch 'modesty' get in the way of that. I sure don't," he winked, throwing his big infectious grin at him. Ritsu couldn't help but smile back, even though he fought it. People began to forget about him, and went back to their conversations. _Well I'll be_…Ritsu thought, smiling a bit wider.

"Riichann, this is Yokozawa Takafumi. He's one of your knights in shining armor," Kisa teased, leaning back in his seat so that Ritsu could see around him to the boy on his left. He had dark, black hair that was kept short, a square jaw, narrow grey eyes, and he was huge. He was definitely a football player, what with his wide shoulders and all.

"Hey," Ritsu said.

"So, you're Onodera then?" Takafumi questioned, studying the boy carefully.

Ritsu narrowed his eyes. "Last time I checked," he said cautiously.

"Where did you come from?" Takafumi asked, with an almost southern drawl that made Ritsu think of his old school back in Kyushu. He went to school there once, for around seven or eight months. Isaka pulled him out when they realized it was some kind of camp for young Carules. Isaka sent in a team to 'take care of them all', but Ritsu refused to take part.

Blinking back into reality, it took him a couple seconds to realize that the whole room was waiting for his answer. "A-Ah, I'm from Hokkaido…" he stuttered.

"What Part?"

"Sapporo."

"Sapporo? Why there?"

Ritsu was getting slightly irritated. "Because, that's where my parents lived when I was born," he snapped.

"Jesus Christ, Taka-chan. Are you interviewing him for the newspaper, or what?" Kisa drawled, giving him an odd look. Ritsu figured that it was probably code for _Chill out, you dumb fuck!_

A girl that sat in front of Kisa leaned towards Ritsu. "Oh my god, I'm in love with your highlights. Where do you get them done?"

Ah, this again, Ritsu mentally shook his head. He never really cared for the natural red streaks that went through his hair, but apparently every other girl in the world did. "My…My dad." He answered quietly.

"Your dad did them? That's so awesome! Is he a hairstylist or something? Do you think he could do mine?" the girl asked, pulling her straight black hair forward as if Ritsu could cast a spell and make highlights suddenly appear.

Ritsu blinked, and shifted awkwardly. "Uh…H-He doesn't really take new clients. Sorry…" he said, feeling a flash of guilt when the girl's face fell. He really wasn't good at this type of thing. Sarcasm was his specialty. Being nice was not.

"Oh, c'mon Aya, your hair is totally gorgeous enough! You don't need any highlights for that," Kisa smiled, and Ritsu threw him a grateful look.

"So, your dad still up in Sapporo?" Takafumi interrupted.

Ritsu broke. "Nope, he's down in Hakodate. And yours? I mean, I'm assuming you know exactly fucking where your father is at all times, whether you live in the same region or not, since you obviously expect me to," he snapped, eyes cold.

Takafumi sat back in surprise.

"Ooh, you sure aren't used to anyone talkin' to you like that, are you mama bear?" Kisa teased with his grin. "No one but Masamune," the bear muttered, and turned away. "Well, anyways, Taka-chan is the strong, fierce and frightening type. So most people avoid snapping at him," Kisa told Ritsu, amusement racing through his tone.

Ritsu didn't break Takafumi's gaze. "That's alright. I've met worse."

The bear's silver eyes flickered up, and stared at the brunette with genuine interest. "Really? When?" he asked, his scowl deepening.

Ritsu laughed, and shook his head. "Listen, I've been the new kid more times than you shave a week. I'm used to assholes like you, and I hate to ruin your day so early, but sorry, I'm not afraid of you." He felt red sparks impatient at his fingertips, eager to be used.

Before Takafumi could respond, the teacher walked in, and Kisa leaned in, uncomfortably blocking Ritsu from the bear's glare. Takafumi leaned around him until he had managed to catch the brunette's eye. "One more question, he whispered across the isles. Ritsu spared him a glance, but said nothing. "Are you a football fan?"

Ritsu tried to scowl at him, wondering where the hell this conversation would lead, but in the end, couldn't suppress a grin. "Hell yeah," he replied aggressively. Takafumi nodded, and turned to face the front. Kisa raised an incredulous brow at Ritsu, but Ritsu shrugged, not sure what was going on himself.

"Onodera Ritsu?"

Ritsu sighed. "Here," he answered and raised his hand.

It wasn't just calculus that nerved Ritsu, it was math in general. He always got his formulas mixed up, and he never knew where to carry the ones. But, it kind of made him happy, his problems with math. It made him feel like a normal teenager for once, and not a monster that hunted, and injured, and killed.

What kind of monster goes to school anyways?

The period went by rather quickly, and Ritsu gathered his things in his lap.

"You're next class is pretty close to mine, so I can walk you. Oh, and I drew a little map from there to third period, in case you can't find someone to take you," Kisa said, handing him a paper with random squiggles and lines in all different directions.

"Oh, uhh, thanks…" Ritsu said, taken aback. If he were that really emotional mama's-boy, he probably would have teared up a little. But his mother had died giving birth to him, and he knew that he would never become such a person.

"No problem. Sorry, I'd take you but my class is _way _down on the bottom floor back in the corner." Kisa grinned sheepishly, and led Ritsu through the plain, white hallways that were in fact, not lined with lockers like some of his other school had been. Stopping in front of Kisa's class, the small senior pointed in a generally western direction. "Okay, you're class is down one floor, and to the left. Check my map and you should be fine," he said, with a firm nod.

"Alright. Thanks again," Ritsu said with a small wave, walking off to the stairs. He stopped abruptly, realizing that he was slightly sad to separate from Kisa. He shook his head, and continued marching on. He reminded himself that people were fake, and that friendship of any kind would ultimately hurt him in the end. He had learned that the hard way, and he didn't know if he could take any more.

Even after reminding himself over and over again, he couldn't help but look forward to his chemistry class at the end of the day. Only a little, though.

* * *

**As you can tell...I'm not very familiar with Japan xDD**

**Yep. That's it. Disappointed? Probably. Gah! I left my kindle at school today, and we have a three-day weekend so I may not update for a while DX I'll go up to my locker at practice later and see if I left it in there…Hopefully I didn't lose it o.o It's either in my locker, or in my math class…Meh. I hope my teacher is still there. **

**Well, thanks for reading & please review CX**


	4. Is there something wrong with me?

**Hey there! I found my kindle xD Andd practice ended earlier than expected so….How about another (short) chapter to make up for the last shitty one I posted? :P Gosh, this is going to kill me xDD**

**I forgot to mention it last time, but thanks for the 15+ followers & four favorites :D **

**And now to our lovely reviewers (Holy crap that was really fast xD):**

** April952: Omigawd. I love you! (Sorry for sounding like a creeper xD)You're stories are soooo amazing :D :D :D I'm so happy that you liked mine! It's such an honor! Thank you so much!**

** Imagine Wings: ...*face palm* Okay, change of plans. Yukina now teaches chemistry AND art. Oh my god how could I not have remembered that xDD Geez, I'm an idiot lol. Well anyways, Takano & Ritsu finally meet in this chapter! Hehehe. Oh, and I was referring to American football (I know its Japan and all, buuut I'm stupid so xD) Sorry for the confusion ^^; Thank you so much for reading & reviewing every one of my chapters so far! :'D it means a lot!**

**Well, anyways, let's get on with this, shall we?**

**I don't own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. All rights go to Shungiku Nakamura, the author of the series.**

**I do not own 'Feudlings', or any of the 'Fate on Fire' books. All rights of this alternate universe go to Wendy Knight, the author of these novels.**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Okay, so Ritsu wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. In fact, he probably wasn't even in the top 100 of his class. His average test results were usually no higher than a C if he were lucky, and if he weren't constantly moving around schools, he'd probably have attended summer school.

But there was no way in hell that anyone could have deciphered Kisa's map.

"There's not even a freaking legend on this thing," Ritsu grumbled, tossing it in the trash. Not really sure what else to do, he wandered for a bit.

He tried to find his way with the room numbers, but ended up even more confused, and stopped between a square hallway with two new passages branching off to either side. He huffed, blowing a stray piece of hair out of his face, and shifted an arm to his hip. He glanced at the right hall, and then the left, waiting for some kind of magical sign that pointed him in the right direction. It didn't happen.

"Oi, you're Onodera, right?" A voice behind him said, and he turned slowly, locking eyes with the most beautiful honey eyes he had ever seen. They were a lighter shade of brown than the norm, and sparkled like diamonds, and his heart nearly stopped in his chest before he reminded himself that he was straight. _Calm down, you idiot!_ He screamed inside of his head, feeling his face heat up slightly. "Y-Yeah…" he stuttered, his voice cracking just a little.

The boy nodded, and started walking towards him. "I'm Takano Masamune," he replied calmly, and Ritsu's eyes slowly trailed from the boy's gaze and onto the rest of him.

Ah. He was exactly how Hataini had described him, only amazingly more stunning up person. Besides his gorgeous amber eyes, (they must be contacts?) he had straight black hair that framed his face, along with full lips that could have made a supermodel jealous. He had broad shoulders, much like Takafumi had, and he was nearly four inches taller than the brunette, something that Ritsu hadn't encountered since like, the second grade.

"So, I guess you're my other knight in shining armor," Ritsu said. "Do I get a third?"

Masamune grinned. "You've met Takafumi," he stated, not bothering to form it into a question. Ritsu didn't answer.

"Oh yeah, he's a nice boy," Ritsu grumbled, and Masamune chuckled.

"He's…a little out there." Masamune replied with a steady grin.

Ritsu blushed wildly, and felt his heart almost leap out of his chest. He had heard of breath-taking smiles, but he had never really seen one up until today.

He struggled to focus on something else, something that didn't make his knees week. It didn't work.

Several girls walked by, waving and blowing kisses to the taller male. "Hey," Masamune answered them, but his eyes never left Ritsu. He blinked, realizing he was waiting for him to say something.

"Uh…Ya think?" was all that he could come up with. Masamune snickered.

"Well, he's not so bad once you get used to him. Well, most of the time, anyways, "the ravenette said with a shake of his head, and then raised his gaze back to the brunette. "Hey…Do I know you?" he asked.

"Huh?" Ritsu blinked, unsure of what to say.

"You seem really familiar…Have we met before?"

"I-I don't think so…?"

"You sure? I swear, I feel like I've seen you before."

"Uhh, I think you've mistaken me for someone else. Sorry…"

"Oh. Right, then."

"R-Right…"

An awkward silence passed between the two, an amber gaze staring down at the brunette, who's emerald orbs stared down at the floor. Ritsu cleared his throat. He was the Edren prodigy for god's sake. He didn't have time to be flustered by silly high school boys. He was completely unprepared as a sudden memory came on him. _Is there something wrong with me? The young brunette wondered, staring over at his crush shyly. He clutched a book tight against his chest, determined to get closer to his Senpai somehow, any way that he could. If only he knew that soon enough, he would be confessing his love to his Senpai, and his one-sided love would finally be put to rest. _Ritsu pushed to memory away, all embarrassment gone, and now thoroughly agitated. _Why now, of all times?_ He wondered, shaking his head.

"Well, I'd love to stand here in the middle of the hallway with you, but I've got a maze to get lost in," he said, gesturing to the halls. "But thanks for taking me to the nurse. I probably wouldn't have gotten there on my own. Especially unconscious and under a ladder," he fake-smiled, and something in Masamune's eyes told him that the taller boy didn't buy it for a second.

"No problem. Saving beautiful princesses is something I do daily." He said calmly, and Ritsu gaped at him. "I haven't filled my part for today, in all honesty. Are you lost?" Masamune asked, and Ritsu gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Of course not. The hallways make absolutely _perfect _sense. I'm just enjoying the fucking divine symmetry of these two particular hallways." He sighed, glanced at the halls with annoyance. The hallways were mostly empty now, and he felt awkward standing here with one of the most popular guys at school, he assumed.

"Hm? What class are you heading to?"

"History." Ritsu said quietly.

"Oh? That's my class too, and I just so happen to know the way. Keep me company?" Masamune grinned, and Ritsu couldn't help but grin back. "Sure," Ritsu said, and hoped he could keep his raging heart under control. He about jumped out of his skin when the bell rang, and he felt obliged to point out the obvious.

"Ah…I made you late. I'm so sorry…"

"Nah, its fine. Teachers love me," Masamune said, and Ritsu bit back a sarcastic remark. They walked quietly for a while, before the taller male sighed. "Ah, sorry to say this, but you look terrible. How're you doing?"

"Oh gee, thanks, I hadn't noticed." He frowned. "I'm fine. A little sore, but I'll live." Masamune nodded, and they made their way to the classroom in silence.

* * *

Soon enough, he watched as Masamune's poker face instantly lit up in what he assumed was a fake smile, and followed the taller male into the classroom.

"Hey, Onodera-san, I saved you a seat," Zen called from the side of the room. He murmured a small 'thank you' as he sat next to the grinning boy. He really wondered why all these people were being so nice to him.

The teacher was calling roll, and shot Ritsu a glare as he called, "Onodera Ritsu." Ritsu raised his hand, feeling slightly guilty for being tardy.

"Kirishima Zen."

"Sup," Zen mused, grinning at the man.

The teacher ignored him. "Takano Masamune." "Yeah, hey," Masamune drawled with a yawn, and Ritsu rolled his eyes when just about every girl in the room sighed dreamily.

"So, I assume that I won't see you two walking in late again?" Haruhiko-sama asked, watching them with stern eyes, and he and Masamune nodded.

"Oh great, it's you," Takafumi grunted from his other side. He didn't even notice the bear when he walked in, but he spared him a look before glancing away. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing," he replied bitterly. Masamune glared at his friend, and Zen grinned, amused. Takafumi ignored them, and Ritsu pretended that he never met them.

They passed out the textbooks, and dove right in. History was Ritsu's second favorite subject, aside from Literature, of course. Regular history, at least. Edren history, not so much.

He allowed himself to get lost in the past of raging battles and prehistoric peoples, jotting down notes by the second, and blocking out Zen and Takafumi with his bangs. He didn't have to worry about being the new kid, or others obvious stares. For now, he was happy. And that's all that mattered.

* * *

It was a rude awakening when the bell rang, and he sighed, packing his things into his bag while he checked his schedule. Ooh, a free period in a library. That would be nice. If he knew where the fuck the library was.

"So, may I assist you again, my fair lady?" Masamune's voice whispered into his ear, and his heart fluttered out of his chest as he glared over at the taller male, his face red with embarrassment.

Stay calm, stay calm…Ritsu told, himself, and cleared his throat. And then he cleared it again. "W-Well, y-yeah, that'd be nice…" he stuttered, trying not to sound desperate as Takafumi appeared at Masamune's side. "Could you point me in the right direction? Oh, and a floor would be nice too…"

Zen laughed from behind him, and peered over the brunette's shoulder to look at his schedule. "Library? You'll find it on the second floor, in the middle of everything. It's not hard to find, believe me." He said.

"And coincidentally on my way to my next class. I'll walk you," Masamune offered, standing up.

"The hell it is. Your next class is across the hall from here, dumbass," Takafumi growled, glaring at Ritsu. Ritsu cocked a brow. Masamune glared at Takafumi, and the bear shook his head, marching off.

"Ah, well, I'm sure I'll be able to find it. I don't need you going out of your way for me," Ritsu offered, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Oh, it's not out of his way. A little exercise will do him wonders. He's getting a bit chubby," Zen grinned, poking at the raven's flat chest.

Masamune rolled his eyes. "Well aren't you just a little comedian," he said sarcastically. He then turned his gaze to Ritsu, and lifting his shirt, he asked "Do you think I'm getting chubby?"

Ritsu ignored him, turning and walking down the hall before anyone could see his tomato-red face. "Hurry up, or you're gonna make me late again," he called over his shoulder, glancing quick enough to see Masamune send Zen a triumphant look, and grabbed his bag, jogging to catch up to Ritsu.

"I…I appreciate this, you know, showing me around and all, but I really don't want to get you in trouble," Ritsu said quietly, shyly looking away._ The hell are you doing? You are the fucking Edren prodigy. What are you getting so worked up about?_ His mind screamed at him, but he managed to push the thoughts away.

"Don't worry about it. My teachers love me, remember?" Masamune said, his tone automatically ending the conversation. Ritsu rolled his eyes. "I meant with Takafumi," he said, and Masamune stopped so suddenly that he ran into his back. "Ugh!" he gasped as heat shot through him at the taller male's touch. Well, that was new.

"What do you mean with Takafumi?" Masamune asked, facing Ritsu with curiosity and suspicion shining in his eyes.

Ritsu took a step back, rubbing his belly gently. Being so close to him made his stomach ache. "Well, isn't he your boss or something? That was the impression I got, anyways."

Masamune frowned. "No. He's not my boss. He's my best friend. He just looks out for me."

Ritsu nodded in understanding, and stepped around him, continuing walking forward in what he hoped was the right direction. "So what, does he think I'm gonna throw you under a ladder or something when no one's around?" Masamune easily closed the gap between them, walking by his side. "No, that's not it. It's that you remind him of someone that I used to know."

Ritsu's lips curled in distaste. "And that's _my_ fault?"

"No, that's not what I meant. You just…look a lot like someone who really hurt me a while ago, and I was really mentally trashed. It took him forever to help me get back on track, and well, he doesn't want it to happen again," Masamune said quietly, stopping abruptly, and Ritsu's eyes softened, his mouth forming a little 'o' shape.

"Oh. Sorry, then," Ritsu said, speed walking forward without a clue where he was going, but he didn't mind.

"Oi! Where are you going, stupid?" Masamune called.

Ritsu's eyes narrowed, as he turned around. "To class?"

"Your class is right here, where we stopped," he laughed, pointing to the room labeled 'Library'.

Ritsu tensed, feeling his face burn up. He raised his chin, and met his gaze with about as much pride as he could before walking into the library. "Yeah, real funny," he said through clenched teeth as he passed him, and walked away with the sound of laughter behind him.

He spotted Kisa at one of the tables, and smiled when Kisa's face lit up, waving as soon as he spotted him. "Hey! How's it all going so far?" he asked, eyes sparkling. Ritsu grinned, and enlightened the male on his long, boring day. He spent the next hour and a half trying not to be amused by his tiny friend's obvious mood changes.

He failed.

In blunt honesty, Kisa was hilarious. One moment, he would be happy and cheery, and so animated about every little thing, and then the next, he would fall dark, and curse heavily at anything that seemed to bug him. Eventually, the raven would seem to realize that he was acting this way, and go back to his happy, cheery self. The hour went by in a flash, and Ritsu was surprised to find that he was upset when class was over.

* * *

A few minutes before the bell for 9th period, Masamune leaned back in his chair, watching as his AP Literature teacher gather his things. The raven watched as he leaved the classroom, and immediately jumped up, throwing his belongings into his bag.

"Oi, Masamune, this is getting ridiculous," Takafumi grunted.

"Oh, shut up," Masamune grinned at him, starting for the door.

"Where's he going?" Hataini asked from in front of them.

Takafumi simply glared at the doorway.

Masamune winked down at him as he passed, whispering words in his ear.

As he sneakily slipped out of the classroom, he heard him yell, "The hell does that even mean?"

Masamune rolled his eyes. It was time to find a little bit more about his flustered little prince(ss.)

* * *

**Yup. Two short chapters in one day. Hallelujah, I'm dying. **

**Well, you'll get to see more of Mino next chapter. Since I know you were all dying to see him again, haha. Well, thanks for reading! Please leave a review & tell me how you feel (:**

**Baiii~**


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